Hurricanes at Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury entered the season with a large bull's-eye on his back - and for good reason. Opponents used Fleury for target practice during the playoffs last season, forcing the Penguins to bench him in favor of Tomas Vokoun and leaving a huge question mark about his future. Fleury has quieted any concerns by allowing one goal in two starts and looks to keep Pittsburgh perfect when it hosts the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Fleury, who was named the league's Third Star of the Week on Monday, went 2-1-0 against the Hurricanes last season but did surrender 10 goals in the three contests. Carolina rebounded from a crushing season-opening overtime loss to Detroit - in which the Red Wings scored the tying goal with 16.4 seconds left in regulation - by knocking off Philadelphia 2-1 on Sunday. The Hurricanes have lost five straight in Pittsburgh, with two coming via the shootout.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN (Carolina), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (1-0-1): Radek Dvorak, signed to a one-year deal two days before the season opener, has scored in each of the first two games. The 36-year-old Czech has been a pleasant surprise while playing on a line with Riley Nash and former Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner, who had two assists against the Flyers. “He’s smart, and you’re never going to find him out of position,” Skinner said of Dvorak. “He’s an easy guy to read off because he’s so consistent that way.”
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (2-0-0): Scoring is rarely an issue for Sidney Crosby and company, who have topped the league in goals each of the last two seasons. Still, Pittsburgh has unearthed another source of offense in veteran Chuck Kobasew, a training-camp invitee who has scored a goal in both games after tallying a total of 12 over the last two campaigns while with the Colorado Avalanche. “I picked them for a reason," Kobasew said of coming to the team on a tryout basis. "I didn't know how it would work out, but so far it's been really good.”
OVERTIME
1. Crosby, who has scored in each of the first two games, has seven goals and 21 assists in 22 games versus Carolina.
2. G Cam Ward, who made 35 saves versus Detroit, is 12-5-3 with a 2.27 goals-against average against Pittsburgh.
3. Fleury needs one victory to move past Colorado's Jean-Sebastien Giguere (251) and into sole possession of 45th place on the all-time list.